Southport

History

The indigenous village of Sasqua, inhabited by Quiripi language speakers, was located in the area. Members of that community later formed the Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation. The earliest recorded event in Southport's history was "The Great Swamp Fight" or "Fairfield Swamp Fight" of July 1637 (not to be confused with the later Great Swamp Fight of King Philip's War), an episode of the Pequot War in which English colonial forces led by John Mason and Roger Ludlow vanquished a band of 80 to 100 Pequot Indians who had earlier fled from their home territory in the Mystic area and taken refuge with approximately 200 Sasqua Indians who inhabited the area that is now Fairfield. The exact location of the battle is unclear, but it is known to have been in the vicinity of Southport. In 1639, Ludlow established the town of Fairfield on the Pequot land known as Unquowa. Colonial deeds of land were signed with the Sasqua in the 1670s. In the eighteenth century, Mill River village, a part of Fairfield, was a small hamlet of a few houses and a wharf at the mouth of Fairfield's Mill River. Farm products from the surrounding area were shipped from Mill River's small harbor to ports in New York and beyond. By 1831 the village had changed its name to Southport and was a bustling commercial area with warehouses, churches, schools, stores and elegant houses. Before 1853, Southport had its own local government as a borough within the town of Fairfield. keeping the harbor profitable until the end of the century. The federal government supported repairs to the harbor in the 1840s. During the 1840s, the greatest agricultural innovation in Fairfield became the cultivation of onions. From 1840 to 1890, 200,000 tons yearly were shipped out of Southport. Designed to be easily stored,…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Southport has a total area of , of which is land and , or 10.99%, is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  35,582
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  33,074
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  32,573
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  31,525
• American herring gull, Smithsonian Gull

  Larus smithsonianus Coues, 1862 · Aves
  31,066
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  29,510
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  27,482
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  26,583

Largest nearby schools

• Central High School
  High · Bridgeport · 1,677 students · 17.7:1 ratio
• Fairfield Ludlowe High School
  High · Fairfield · 1,498 students · 10.7:1 ratio
• Fairfield Warde High School
  High · Fairfield · 1,418 students · 11.2:1 ratio
• Stratford High School
  High · Stratford · 1,127 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• Warren Harding High School
  High · Bridgeport · 1,109 students · 14.8:1 ratio
• Achievement First Bridgeport Academy
  Other · Bridgeport · 1,084 students · 20.5:1 ratio
• Blackham School
  Elementary · Bridgeport · 1,068 students · 17:1 ratio
• Cesar Batalla School
  Elementary · Bridgeport · 1,054 students · 15.7:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.8 — 2025-08-05
  1 km N of Hillsdale, New Jersey
• M 3 — 2025-08-03
  0 km W of Little Ferry, New Jersey
• M 2.66 — 2014-08-14
  6 km SW of Deep River Center, Connecticut
• M 2.6 — 2001-10-27
  1 km NNW of Manhattan, New York